Amazonian Ethnobotany
Medicinal Cure for Auto-Immune Disease The Mission In 2004, my father was diagnosed with an unknown, degenerative autoimmune disease. We spent the next ten years visiting the best doctors in the country, desperately trying treatments that ranged from experimental to simply dangerous with no success. In fact, doctors still do not have a diagnosis for his condition. His health has progressively declined and he is now paralyzed, requiring full-time care. We have exhausted all that modern western medicine can offer - leaving us to search elsewhere for answers. The Place The Amazon Rainforest is the earth’s largest, richest ecosystems and home to the widest arrays of healing plants in the world - It is considered by many researchers, scientists and doctors as the “largest natural chemist store in the world.” Countless compounds have been found in the botany and wildlife of this deep, sacred place that have been treasured by its inhabitants and used to cure almost all diseases and ailments that humans endure from Aleopecia to Wooping Cough, kidney disorders to AIDS. Ancient Shamanism has preserved these treatments and cures. The promising research has led to incentivizing conservation of this precious resource as it offers hope for the global community. Currently 75 % of our pharmaceuticals have come from examining the use of these plants in traditional medicine.
The Study If selected for XREF, I would venture into the Amazon Rainforest visiting local Shamans and healing centers in Brazil, Peru, and Colombia in search for alternative medicinal care for my father’s unknown disease. Since he is paralyzed, I will learn about their practices and healing techniques and bring them back to him, as well as any allowable plants and herbs. I can then provide controlled treatment, isolating the effects of each plant on his system. If his condition improves, I can return in the future to the Amazon with him for advanced treatment at healing centers or with Shamans.
Mullaca contains many types of
biologically active, naturally occurring chemicals including flavonoids, alkaloids, and many different types of plant steroids, some of which have never before been seen in science. The new steroids found in mullaca have received the most attention, and many of the documented anti-cancerous, anti-tumorous and anti-leukemic actions are attributed to these steroids.
“It may be that the nature of autoimmune disorders -- which in many cases is the body's inability to distinguish between itself and ‘not itself’ -involve more of a simple on/off switch that something within the plants' biochemistry or the way they're administered is able to address.”
Sarsaparilla contains the plant steroids sarsasapogenin, smilagenin, sitosterol, stigmasterol, and pollinastanol. The saponins have been reported to facilitate the body's absorption of other drugs and phytochemicals, which accounts for its history of use in herbal formulas as an agent for bioavailability and to enhancement the power and effect of other herbs.
- Rios Nete co-founder Luke Weil
I am passionate about sustainability, and utilizing natural systems and flows as solutions. I believe my extensive background in qualitative and quantitative research provides me with the tools to investigate these alternative medicines objectively. My significant other, who will be accompanying me on this journey, has a background in sustainability and the medical field, as well as connections to Peruvian locals in the Rainforest. The map to the right illustrates the expanse of the rainforest, and locations where some very promising plants for autoimmune treatment are found.
Velvet bean contains a high concentration of L-dopa in the seeds, it has been studied for its possible use in Parkinson's disease. It is associated with progressive degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in specific areas in the brain. Dopamine does not cross the blood-brain barrier and therefore cannot be used directly as a treatment. However, L-dopa (levodopa) does gain access to the brain-where it is converted to dopamine.
Erva tostão contains flavonoids, steroids, and alkaloids, many of which drive its documented biological activities. The novel alkaloids found in erva tostão have been documented with immune modulating effects. In one study, the alkaloid fraction of the root evidenced a dramatic effect in reducing an elevation of cortisol levels under stressful conditions (cortisol is an inflammatory chemical produced in the body in an immune response).
Toroñ has several useful groups
of plant chemicals. A group of oxidole alkaloids that has been documented with immune-stimulant and antileukemic properties. Another group of chemicals called quinovic acid glycosides have documented anti-inflammatory and antiviral actions. A class of compounds known as carboxyl alkyl esters has been documented with immunostimulant, anti-inflammatory, anticancerous, and cell-repairing properties.